Confinement officers here sued by inmate

A June 8, 2023, incident at the Adams County Law Enforcement and Detention Center has prompted a former inmate there to level charges alleging confinement officers and a deputy used excessive force against him while at the facility.

The suit was filed in Adams Superior Court last week by Kameron Hawkins. It has not yet been set for trial as those accused are now in the process of being notified and the usual process allows several weeks then to pass before an initial hearing is held.

Adams County Sheriff Dan Mawhorr said Monday morning he would “have no comment on the matter since it pertains to pending litigation.” An attempt to reach Mark Burry, the Decatur lawyer who serves as the Adams County attorney, was not successful as staff he would be busy most of the day Monday.

According to court records, Hawkins was originally arrested last May on a possession of narcotics charge. He was eventually found guilty in November 2023 and was sentenced to serve a fiveyear term with the Indiana Department of Corrections. On top of that, the original nine years of his sentence was suspended. He is no longer an inmate at the Adams County Jail.

In his charges, Hawkins named jailers Conrad Dyer, Cody Givens, Adam McKenzie, and Alexis Ochoa along with one unnamed police office and claimed they used excessive force against him on several occasion.

One time, Hawkins said a jailer used mace spray on him multiple times while another placed handcuffs on him.

That same day it is alleged the another confinement officer used a taser device on Hawkins several times while others watched and did not intervene. On yet another occasion, he claimed another jailer punched him in the chest despite the fact he was not causing a problem.

The suit does not list a compensation and punitive damage figure that Hawkins is seeking in the lawsuit.